Access to Justice Act 1999

20 Restriction of disclosure of information. E+W

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, information which is furnished—

(a) to the Commission or any court, tribunal or other person or body on whom functions are imposed or conferred by or under this Part, and

(b) in connection with the case of an individual seeking or receiving services funded by the Commission as part of the Community Legal Service or Criminal Defence Service,

shall not be disclosed except as permitted by subsection (2).

(2) Such information may be disclosed—

(a) for the purpose of enabling or assisting the Commission to discharge any functions imposed or conferred on it by or under this Part,

(b) for the purpose of enabling or assisting the [F1 Secretary of State] to discharge any functions imposed or conferred on him by or under this Part,

(c) for the purpose of enabling or assisting any court, tribunal or other person or body to discharge any functions imposed or conferred on it by or under this Part,

(d) except where regulations otherwise provide, for the purpose of the investigation or prosecution of any offence (or suspected offence) under the law of England and Wales or any other jurisdiction,

(e) in connection with any proceedings relating to the Community Legal Service or Criminal Defence Service, or

(f) for the purpose of facilitating the proper performance by any tribunal of disciplinary functions.

(3) Subsection (1) does not limit the disclosure of—

(a) information in the form of a summary or collection of information so framed as not to enable information relating to any individual to be ascertained from it, or

(b) information about the amount of any grant, loan or other payment made to any person or body by the Commission.

(4) Subsection (1) does not prevent the disclosure of information for any purpose with the consent of the individual in connection with whose case it was furnished and, where he did not furnish it himself, with that of the person or body who did.

[F2 (4A) Subsection (1) does not prevent the disclosure of information after the end of the restricted period, if–

(a) the disclosure is by a person who is, or is acting on behalf of a person who is, a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and

(b) the information is not held by the authority on behalf of another person.

(4B) The restricted period is the period of one hundred years starting at the end of the calendar year in which a record containing the information was first created.]

(5) A person who discloses any information in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

(6) Proceedings for an offence under this section shall not be brought without the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(7) Nothing in this section applies to information furnished to a person providing services funded as part of the Community Legal Service or the Criminal Defence Service by or on behalf of an individual seeking or receiving such services.

Textual Amendments

F1 Word in s. 20 substituted (19.8.2003) by The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1887), art. 9, Sch. 2 para. 11(1)(a)

F2 S. 20(4A)(4B) inserted (1.1.2005) by The Freedom of Information (Removal and Relaxation of Statutory Prohibitions on Disclosure of Information) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/3363), art. 9

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 20(2): Disclosure powers extended (14.12.2001) by 2001 c. 24, ss. 17, 127(2), Sch. 4 Pt. I para. 47